The 94 attendees enjoyed a wine tasting and reception, followed by a master class led by Montoya. There, the novice painters--including former Norwalk police chief and mayoral candidate Harry Rilling--learned details of Montoya's technique and practiced by copying one of the artist's earlier paintings of a sunrise over rolling hills.

The evening was sponsored by Joanna Fox of Jerry's Artarama--called "simply the best friend The Hour Publishing Company has" by event organizer Jim Reid--and a slate of other Norwalk businesses.

"I love the concept," Casey O'Reilly told The Hour.

"I read all the ads for this, and I thought it was just a fabulous idea," Leigh Gardella said, explaining how she convinced two of her friends to join her Friday night.

"It was so fun," she added. "Rather than do nothing or sit in a bar and drink on a Friday night, you got to meet new people and be creative."

Montoya, the Easton artist who lead Friday night's event, was recently commissioned to paint two enormous public murals in Connecticut, a 60-foot piece in the South Norwalk train station and a 16-foot by 37-foot mural at New Haven's Hill Central School.

"My subject matter is always changing, but generally it's based off of realism with social commentary behind it," he told The Hour, such as a series called "Confronting the Shadows," which highlighted immigrant workers and others "in the shadows" of society.